


With the Birds I'll Share (This Lonely Viewin')

by Khashana



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO NOAH, either offscreen or on, these are just references to the already established events of Lick Your Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 15:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18876196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khashana/pseuds/Khashana
Summary: This is a spinoff/fic of a fic of the amazing sysrae's Scar Tissue series.Years later, Noah Sparkman realizes the fate he narrowly avoided.





	With the Birds I'll Share (This Lonely Viewin')

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Lick Your Heart (And Taste Your Health)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14044698) by [sysrae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sysrae/pseuds/sysrae). 



> Yes, I am aware there are at least two other fics I'm supposed to be working on right now. But in my defense, I just found this in my WIP folder almost complete. It just needed an ending.   
> Thanks to sysrae for permission to play in her sandbox.

“You’re such a Parson fan,” chirped Brandon the first time he came over and saw Noah’s signed poster. Noah blushed.

“Yeah, well, you know.” _He was the first openly gay player in the NHL._ “He’s like, awesome.”

“That’s why you should _hate_ him, dude. He’s playing _against your team._ ”

“He grew up here, you know? Like, the next town over. My dad had a co-worker who used to coach him.”

“No way.” For all he rolled his eyes every time Noah brought up Parson, Brandon’s eyes were huge. 

“No, really. He offered to coach me, too, but that never happened. He died not that long after. Got us to meet Parson first, though.”

“Wait, you met him? Is that a real signature?” Brandon gestured at the poster. 

“Yep!” Noah grinned at the memory. “Go look. It’s signed ‘For Sparks.’” Brandon got off the bed and darted over to the wall, gazing reverently at the signature.

“Wow,” he breathed. Then he turned back to Noah. “What was he like?”

“Pretty weird, actually.” 

“Weird how?”

Noah frowned, recalling the memory in detail for the first time in several years. “He was nice at first. And then my dad was telling him how his co-worker told us all about coaching him, and I said he’d talked about coaching me, too. And then he got all weird and told my dad not to ever let us alone together.”

Noah paused. A cold feeling started to trickle into his stomach. 

Brandon came back and sat down next to him on the bed again. “What? Why?”

“That’s what I said. I asked…if he was a bad teacher. And he said…he said, ‘Very bad. He teaches things no one should learn.’” He reached down and grabbed Brandon’s hand tightly without thinking about it as the horror of the situation started to hit him. Brandon squeezed back. “Oh my god,” said Noah faintly. He met Brandon’s eyes. Brandon looked as scared and sick as he felt. “Oh my god, he was, he was a rapist, wasn’t he?” Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming need for his dad. He jumped off the bed, pulling Brandon behind him, and raced down the stairs, barreling into his dad’s chest where he was walking around the corner. 

“Noah! What’s up, bud?” He wrapped Noah in that tight hug that had always meant Noah was safe. “What’s wrong?”

“Gary,” said Noah to his dad’s shoulder. It was easier to get the words out if he didn’t have to see his face. But he felt his dad flinch all the same. “That time we met Kent Parson.” He wasn’t making a real sentence, he knew, but his dad understood him anyway and squeezed him tighter.

“He saved you,” said his dad in a quiet, slightly choked voice. “He saved you and probably a bunch of other kids.”

Noah was remembering the rest of the conversation, remembering his dad asking if Parson knew from experience, and Parson saying ‘Firsthand.’ 

“Gary raped him, didn’t he,” said Noah, and felt tears well up in his eyes. He felt his dad nod against the top of his head.

“I still send him a Christmas card every year. Let him know how you’re doing.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

His dad sighed. “I wanted him to keep being your hero. Not just some kind of embarrassing hockey uncle that you’d eventually stop admitting you even liked.”

“I wanna thank him,” said Noah as his dad let go of him at last. “I wanna tell him that I know what he did for me and I wanna thank him.”

His dad smiled, a watery smile. “I’ll give his people a call.”

Brandon’s hand found Noah’s again (when had he dropped it?) as Noah stepped back and swiped at his eyes. Noah squeezed.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” said Brandon quietly. 

Noah just nodded, unable to form words.

 

ONE MONTH LATER

Noah waited excitedly at the arena, trying not to fidget too badly. A woman in a suit had come and gotten them from their seats, and then left them alone again to wait.

“Hey.” And there he was. Kent Parson, highest number of goals _and_ points in the League to date, openly gay and married to a man, subject of half of Noah’s sports memorabilia, standing in front of them with damp hair, wearing a grey suit. “It’s good to see you again, Michael. Noah.” He reached out to shake hands with first Noah’s dad, then Noah. 

“Hi,” Noah squeaked out. 

“You’re still playing hockey, right?”

“Yep! Bantam. I’m a center. I actually got an assist in our game last week!” Parson grinned at him.

“That’s great! I’m glad it’s going well.”

“Noah actually wanted to talk to you about something specific,” his dad cut in. “Could we maybe talk somewhere private?”

Parson’s face went serious. “Yeah, of course,” he said, and led them through a few hallways until they reached an empty lounge. Noah’s dad shut the door behind them. Parson seemed content to stand, but Noah’s dad led them over to some cushy chairs, and they all sat down.

“What’s up?” said Parson, and stared at Noah very intently. Noah found it hard to meet his gaze, and his eyes caught on Parson’s grey and red striped tie instead. 

In a small voice, he said, “I figured out what you were saying when—when we met. The first time.” Parson inhaled sharply. “I know you saved me,” Noah continued even more quietly. “I just wanted to say thank you.” He looked up to meet Parson’s eyes at last and found them glistening with tears. Parson blinked rapidly and scrubbed the back of his hand across his face.

“I’m really glad I was able to,” he said, voice as quiet as Noah’s. “I don’t know how I would have lived with myself any other way.”

“I know you’re famous and people are probably really weird and you can say no,” said Noah in a rush, “but can I give you a hug?”

Kent nodded and gave him a watery, crooked smile, wiping at his eyes again before opening his arms. Noah flung himself into them and they clung to each other for a moment before Noah let go. He still had that same watery smile when Noah looked at him again, but he seemed less fragile in some undefinable way. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Noah told him. Kent took a deep breath in and let it out.

“It sucked,” he said frankly. “Majorly. But I’m okay now, mostly. And I got to make sure it didn’t happen to you. That’s what I try to focus on.”

Now it’s Noah’s turn to tear up. 

“Make sure you give your dad a big hug, too,” Kent added. “He believed me. And he arrested Gary.”

That was news to Noah. He turned to his dad, eyes wide. “You did? I thought he died.”

“He did,” said his dad. “But not until after I found enough on him to make sure he couldn’t hurt any more kids.”

Noah thought it wasn’t very likely Gary could have hurt any more kids between them meeting Kent and Gary dying; the two events were pretty close together if he remembered correctly. But it was the thought that counted, so he turned and hugged his dad tightly. “Thanks, dad,” he mumbled against his dad’s chest.

When he let go, his dad stood up and said, “We won’t take up any more of your time, Mr. Parson.”

“It was my pleasure,” said Kent. “Please, stay in touch.”

 

“He was _so_ cool,” Noah told Brandon at school the next day. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I wanna grow up to be just like him.”

And Brandon didn’t even chirp him for it.


End file.
